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What Nuno said at full-time sums up where Nottingham Forest are as perspective needed after defeat
A bad day at the office or a reality check for Nottingham Forest? Perhaps Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Newcastle United was actually a bit of both.
Collectively and (for the most part) individually, the Reds were below par at the City Ground. And if your levels drop even slightly in the Premier League, you can get punished - particularly when up against quality opponents such as the Magpies. The visitors were very good on the banks of the Trent and beat Forest at their own counterattacking game.
It had been easy to get caught up in dreams of European adventures for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side as they sat third in the table going into their final fixture before the international break. Such an achievement may yet still be possible, after all this loss should take nothing away from an excellent start to the season.
But it was also a reminder that in this division, nothing comes easy. It is a ruthless, unforgiving slog of a campaign and the Reds are very much not the finished article - as Nuno has consistently pointed out.
Games, results and performances like this happen to every team. The key is to learn from them.
Murillo off the mark
The Brazilian has been threatening to score for the best part of a year. Or to be more precise, he has been threatening to score a worldie for the best part of a year.
When his first one for the club finally came, it wasn’t quite along the same lines as his previous outrageous efforts. But it was certainly no less memorable and still one to add to the highlights reel.
The cross from Anthony Elanga was superb and the defender was perfectly placed to head beyond Nick Pope. It elicited a huge roar from the stands, as much because Murillo had opened his account in the Garibaldi as the fact Forest had gone in front.
The man himself enjoyed it, too. He revelled in the moment after being mobbed by his teammates.
The Reds need as many players as possible to chip in by getting on the scoresheet. Now Murillo is off the mark, surely more goals will come. Indeed, he almost got a second on the day with one of his trademark long-range rocket efforts.
Linking up with the Brazil squad for the first time will cap a memorable week for the centre-back. A previously rock-solid defence might have conceded three goals for the first time this season, but there is no doubting his quality.
The 22-year-old getting the goal he has deserved for so long was one of the positives of an otherwise frustrating afternoon for the hosts. It was just a shame it didn’t count for anything.
Misfiring attack
“It is easy to see we’ve been punished by the way that we’ve been punishing other teams. That’s a reflection to be made on the game,” Nuno said afterwards.
Hitting teams on the break with pace has been so effective for the Reds. But this time they could only watch on as their opponents performed the same trick.
By contrast, Forest struggled to get going in attack themselves. Understandably, Nuno had stuck with the same XI from the 3-0 thumping of West Ham United but this display was somewhat leggy by comparison.
Morgan Gibbs-White didn’t have anywhere near the kind of impact he normally does, while Callum Hudson-Odoi also wasn’t at his usual standards. It meant Chris Wood received little service and never really looked like building on the red-hot run that had seen him crowned Premier League Player of the Month for October. Becoming the club’s all-time Premier League top scorer will simply have to wait.
The curse strikes?
During his time in charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, Nuno would not touch any of his Manager of the Month trophies out of superstition. This time, having deservedly claimed that crown following a terrific October, he had no such qualms. He lifted it aloft as though it were the World Cup when the award was presented to him at the training ground last week.
But it wasn’t the Manager of the Month curse that struck on Sunday. It was simply that Newcastle were the better side on the day, particularly in the second half.
Having said that, could the end result have been different had Nuno taken a different path? At half-time, Forest were ahead but the visitors had caused them plenty of problems. Two big saves from Matz Sels were required to keep the Magpies at bay. It must have been tempting to consider changing shape; perhaps switching to three at the back or adding an extra man in midfield to help shore things up a bit.
When substitutions were made, they didn’t have the desired impact. The normally-reliable Elliot Anderson wasn’t his usual self against his former club, while Jota Silva and Ramon Sosa also couldn’t help turn the tide. By the time James Ward-Prowse and Taiwo Awoniyi came on, it was too late in the day.
The Reds found themselves in slightly unfamiliar territory as only twice before had they trailed at any point in a league game this season. It made for an interesting test. And although Forest couldn’t respond on this occasion, how they approach such a scenario in the future will no doubt be something Nuno looks at.
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Positive start
Nineteen points from the first 11 games is still very impressive, regardless of how Sunday panned out. The Reds will spend the international break sitting fifth in the table, below Chelsea and Arsenal on goal difference. From where the club have come, that is still an incredible achievement. Hands would have been snapped off had that been offered prior to a ball being kicked this term.
One result - and only their second league defeat of the campaign - should not derail them. But it does highlight that there is still work to do; still progress to be made and improvement required.
“I always believe every game gives you a chance to improve and a lesson to take,” Nuno said in his post-match press conference. “Even though we lost the game today, I am very pleased. All of us at Forest should be proud of our players and the way we have been working together.”
It was always going to be a big ask for Forest to keep up their sensational run of form. It doesn’t mean they won’t go on another winning streak at some point, though. And it doesn’t mean they can’t still have an excellent season. Perspective is required.
Some resolve may well be needed in the weeks ahead, given the fixture computer has thrown up a trying run of away games after the break - against Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. Add in home matches against Ipswich Town and Aston Villa before mid-December and by Christmas time a clearer picture of where the Reds are and what might be possible this season is likely to have emerged.
